


chicago christmas

by hariboo



Category: New Girl
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-24
Updated: 2011-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-05 18:56:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/409891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>jess feels bad about nick missing his flight and recruits cece and schmidt to help her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chicago christmas

 

So Nick misses his flight home. (Again, let it be known.) And Jess feels kinda guilty over it.

Truth be told Jess actually feels pretty crappy, because it's the morning of the 24th and she's just realising -- realising again! -- that she broke up with Paul. Great, funny, who likes to sing with her on Thanksgiving, and gives her secret kisses in the break room at school Paul two days before Christmas. So yeah, she feeling pretty crappy, but as she sees it she has two choices here:

Feel crappy (about great now heartbroken Paul) or feel guilty (about Nick not seeing his mom, Chicago snow, and Coach who sent Nick about a million, or just ten, angry-sad smilies because Coach was picking up Nick at the airport).

At least she can try and fix the guilty.

Rolling in her bed, she pokes Cece, who slept over after needing a shower to wash the dirty dishwater Cecilia No. 5 smell of her, and crawled into Jess' bed like they used to as kids because Cece is a good friend who knows Jess better than anyone and won't her leave her friend alone during the post breakup haze. Things can get messy during this haze.

Cece shifts, mumbles something, swatting Jess' fingers away, which tells Jess the important thing:

Cece is awake. Or at least awake enough.

That when Jess tells her what she's thinking. Cece mostly groans, but she does say:

"Jess, _babe_ , you have nothing to feel guilty for. Nick missing his flight was his own fault. Not to mention he's a babbler mouth who keeps talking when he shouldn't. Just go back to sleep." Cece curls around one Jess' pillows. "Lots of sleep."

"I can't, I still feel bad. His mom sounded really sad." Jess sighs, drumming her fingers on her stomach. "And it's eight. In teacher time I'm already at school."

Cece snorts into the pillow. "In model time, I'm just hitting my REM."

Jess concedes that.

"Okay, but I'm going to get up and make post-Hanukkah, pre-Christmas waffles anyway."

"Hmmrmm."

Jess is at the door when Cece says, "Can I have cinnamon-blueberry?"

Jess smiles at her best friend. "Already on the list!"

Cece mumbles something like _you're the best_ and goes back to sleep.

 

 

—

 

 

Cooking the waffles, Jess zones out thinking about Cece said. Even half asleep she always has a point and she was right. Jess shouldn't feel guilty about Nick missing his flight because Nick's the one who blabbed to super great funny Paul who had bought Jess super awesome tickets to Vienna -- land of The Sound of Music!! They could have sung to the hills! -- and started the road to the Saddest Christmas Party Breakup Ever, which is what Jess is calling it, but then he detoured to Candy Cane Lane and he didn't have too. He could have driven to the airport but instead he gave the greatest present and ugh! Damn her misplaced guilt!

She's gonna make it up to Nick.

The waffle iron blinks. Jess sings to herself a medley about holiday waffles and candy canes as she wonder just how she's going to do this. Then Wintson walks in and gives her a little beat box as he makes his juice making her smile. Breakfast doesn't take long as soon as everyone else is up. Schmidt grins at her when she gives him his waffles with the Star of David in whipped cream and over her cinnamon blueberry waffle Cece nods when Jess gives her the 'I'm doing my plan' look.

Cece rolls her eyes like she's not even surprise. This is why she's Jess' best friend.

Everyone has seconds of the Holiday Waffles. Nick eats three even when grumbling — Turtle Face Sighting! — over the brand new messages he's getting from his mom and Coach before he goes to drive Winston to the airport. He grumbles about that too and how Winston gets snow and actual wind chill. Jess has never met someone who like wind chill. They mostly ignore him because he's just being Nick, but Jess frowns. She doesn't even really pick up on Winston dragging Nick out the door until Winston comes up to her and gives her quick side hug.

"See you guys in a week," he fist bumps Schmidt, nods to Cece who smirks at him and drags Nick out the door.

"Have a safe flight! Say no to drugs!"

Both Winston and Nick give her amused looks as they leave.

When the door closes, she turns to Schmidt and Cece.

"Hey, wanna help me give Nick a Chicago Christmas in less than two hours?"

"No."

They both say it, but Jess is already dragging them out the door wondering what place s are still selling fake snow in Christmas Eve.

 

—

 

Operation: Chicago Christmas starts out like this:

Schmidt says he "knows a guy" with a fake plastic snow hook up. They drive all way to Los Felices to meet this guy to hear that he's in Vale, skiing.

"I guess, he really is hitting some fresh power," Schmidt holds his hand out for a fist bump, "playa!" He pauses. "Man, I should be hitting Aspen scene. Hot toddies, y'all! What do you day, Cece?"

Cece rolls her eyes, but smiles. Jess frowns, but thinks a hot toddy sounds nice.

Cece then says she think she can get one of her photographer friends to hook them up. This means they have to drive to Studio City and traffic is horrible at this time of the day. They stop for drive-thru half way there. Jess only has a milkshake and fries that Cece feeds her, because she's driving and both hands should be on the wheel!, while Schmidt gives them running commentary on all the ways Nick has missed his flight before.

 

—

 

Year One: the year he had post Christmas Party hangover from the bar and slept through his alarm. His mother, while angry, had understood.

Year Two: Schmidt has gotten the flu and due to a now regrettable game of Battleship Shots with eggnog they had all gotten the flu and spent the 24th puking up everything. Everything. Nick's mother had been sad, understandably, but called them every other hour to make sure they were taking care of each other.

Year Three: Caroline. She had wanted to spend it with her family. This year Nick's mother hadn't been so understanding.

Year Four: It was during the break up with Caroline. Schmidt shivers during the tale.

 

—

 

Long story short: Cece's photographer friend does not hook them up.

Long story long: They drive all the way to Studio City and when they get there Cece's friend is stone and there is a lot of snow — the illegal kind — and Jess shakes her head _no_ many many times. Cece's friend — Tommy or Tony, with an _i_ , so it's like Tonni and Toni — half mumbles about a place they could get it in downtown Hollywood but in the background Schmidt is talking to Nick on the phone about he's on his way back from the airport.

That's when Jess gets the idea:

She's a teacher!

The drive to the school takes them twenty minutes — L.A. traffic _sucks_ — but they break into the school. Kinda. It's not really a break in, Jess points out since she has keys but Schmidt insists it sounds better and Cece smacks him in the arm.

"Come on, Jess, let's get this over with. We have about ten minutes!"

She's the one at the wheel because unlike Jess Cece knows how to speed.

They make it to the apartment and when they open the door… Nick is there, sitting on the couch, eating a burrito. He's in the middle of a chew and look at them like they've been having some illegal snow. Jess digs her hand into the fake snow they stole from the Christmas Pageant at the school and throw it at Nick. It gets into his burrito and then Schmidt, thinking is this the best idea ever, throws another handful in the air and that gets all up in Nick's fries.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Nick stands, shaking of his food and shirt, turtle face in place.

Cece grabs a handful and throw it right at Nick.

"Hey! This is you're freaking Christmas present. Appreciate it!"

Nick blinks.

Jess sighs, "I felt bad I made you miss your flight even though it was really _me_ but it was my present and," Jess grabs another handful of fake snow and tosses it in the air. It sprinkles down on them and it feels almost real — almost magical — for indoor snow and behind her Cece and Schmidt are flicking show at each other. "You wanted to see snow."

Nick shakes his head and sighs. It's his big put upon sigh that is mostly for show. He picks a bit of plastic out of Jess' hair.

"It's great. Thanks, Jess." He smiles and reaches into the bag between then to toss some more snow around.

It's a mess in the end, but Jess has never been in a plastic snowball fight. So, it's kinda worth it.


End file.
